Excerpts from an oral history interview with Marion F. "Sonny" Smith, conducted on 25 Sept. 2007 by Larry Patterson as part of the Nashville Public Library's Veterans History Project. Smith served with the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...

A scene from Nashville’s Star-Spangled Salute to Vietnam Veterans, hosted by Mayor Richard Fulton and the Davidson County Veterans Coordinating Council at Centennial Park on October 4th, 1981. The festivities started with a fly-over by three Huey...